Dear FanFiction Authors: A Letter of Encouragement
by Kida The Freak
Summary: Hurtful things are written, and Leo's lost his encouragement to write. Little brother Donatello's here to bring back that encouragement, whatever it takes. [Written in response to the "Dear Fanfiction Writers" stories that have been cycling around] (Brotherly fluff, 2k12 verse, oneshot)


**So I've been noticing these "Dear FanFiction Authors" stories going around and...**

**I think they're just... terrible.**

**I mean, I totally get how some stereotypes, pairings, etc. will annoy/bother people, but please, don't tear down aspiring writers just because you don't care for what they write about, even if you think it's a disgrace to the fandom. It's really hurtful to people. So I wrote this in hopes to encourage writers to not listen to what anyone else thinks.**

**Whether you write Tcest, cannon pairings, genderbends, death fics, clichés, OCs, whatever your insane fangirl/fanboy minds desire, just keep writing. I love you for it. And so do our turtle friends! So without further ado...**

**READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE! Reviews make me happy! So do favs, but only if you want to!**

* * *

Two-twenty seven A.M.

Leo sighed and leaned back into the couch as the time glared in return at him the computer sidebar. Really, he was going to be dead tired tomorrow during training. But… His eyes flashed traitorously back to the laptop screen, the window he had open coaxing his fingers to just reach out and-

No, Leo. If you're tired, you aren't going to be able to function tomorrow. Your brothers need you to lead the patrol…

_But Leo, it's just one quick, innocent, harmless read._

No. I'm shutting you down now, computer. Just one click…

_Leooooooo…_

Leo dove for the mouse, dragging the cursor to the title that tempted him so strongly, and with only a moment's regrets, he clicked on it. The screen changed, bringing up the posted Space Heroes story.

It was a guilty pleasure of Leo's, to turn on the computer late at night when his brothers had gone to bed and sign into his FanFiction site. He would spend hours surfing the latest Space Heroes stories, reading on adventures that didn't happen, but could have. Sure, some of the stories were out-of-character, or sloppily written. Some just didn't interest him. But even so, Leonardo could be so quickly amazed by the creativity and stability some of the writers had. It was those writers that kept him coming back for more like an eager puppy.

Leo scanned the summary of the one he was reading now, hungrily drinking in its contents.

**_Dear FanFiction Writers…_**

_ Captain Ryan and his associates have something to say to FanFiction writers._

Breaking the fourth wall, now, huh? Leo thought amused as he scrolled to the actual good part: the story itself. He settled it into a good position of the screen, and the story was just long enough to fit the page. It was only about seven hundred words total for this story, and this was only the first chapter.

_Dear FanFiction Authors,_

_ By the Moons of Ascen'dor! Stop your Mary-Sues at once! Not just any ruffian simply 'happens' upon being invited to join my crew! And it's a disgrace when one plainly makes 'my knees go weak and my heart pound'! I have higher standards than wannabe beauty queens!_

_ Do my crew and I a favor, and keep that nonsense to yourself._

_ Sincerely, Captain Ryan._

Leo jerked back from the screen like he had been slapped in the face. His blue eyes were wide as he gaped at the harshness written in black and white. Sure, Leo avoided stories with OCs, but that was his preference. A few that he's read with them have been beautifully written, and they didn't always 'fall hopelessly in love' with Captain Ryan. Leonardo felt like someone had just punched him in the gut, but he took a deep breath and straightened his posture.

The blue-masked turtle noticed the little button in the corner for the next chapter, and he debated it seriously. If the rest of this story was like the first chapter, he wasn't sure he wanted to keep reading. Feeling a little unsettled, Leo clicked "Next chapter" and scrolled down.

_Dear FanFiction Authors,_

_ What is wrong with your sanity! I do not love Captain Ryan, nor will I ever bear him children! And all this sappy 'love' makes me sick. I'm but a spy on board his ship, and his passion makes him an easy target. He only thinks I love him. Ha! _

_P.S. And CelestRyan? Could there have been a dumber name?_

_-Celestrial._

That one made Leo's unsettled feeling intensify, and his throat tightened. He shipped CelestRyan (Heaven forbid his brothers find out!). In fact, it was Leo's OTP. True, he though the pairing name could have been a little more creative, but Leo didn't see anything wrong with the pairing in general. There were millions of other Space Heroes pairings, some of which Leo didn't care for, but he respected them nonetheless. Did people really take that much offense to his preferences?

The cursor unknowingly gravitated towards Leo's account, and he thought faintly about his own stories. He worked so hard on them, used them to take a break from real life. How many people on FanFiction avoided his stories because of the pairings? Leo knew, of course, that not everyone wanted to read his stories, and whether they avoided it or not never mattered to him before as long as someone liked it.

But now, sitting in the darkened living room at two-thirty in the morning, Leo was suddenly and painfully aware of how many people avoided and mentally scorned his preferences. He must have been lucky to have avoided flames so far…

He hadn't even realized he clicked on the next chapter. How else was he offending people?

_To the FanFiction creeps:_

_Eww! Shipping me with Glaxiator is just wrong! Not only is he a different species, but I'm straight! As in, not gay? Get that through your thick skulls! It's not gonna-_

Leonardo closed out of the window, his queasiness developing into full-blown nausea. He pulled the laptop lid shut, the living room going dark as he sat in silence. All those poor authors who were guilty of the same story themes… Was it a crime now to write freely? Leo rested his head in his hands, eyes falling on his writing notebook. All his dreams and stories…

Slowly, painfully, Leo moved the laptop onto the cushion next to him, standing up and picking up the book, nearly knocking Mikey's comic book off the table in the process. At a snail's pace, he walked over to the wastebasket, holding the book over the lid. With a sigh and a sense of finality, he let go, letting his unfinished writing fall to its end among broken egg shells and rotten fruit.

"What are you doing?"

Donatello's voice made Leo jump, and he spun round to see his purple-banded brother walking over to him.

"I was, uh, just throwing out some trash. What are you doing up?"

Donnie stood beside Leo, reaching into the trash and pulling his notebook out. Absently, he wiped off an old banana peel.

"I was getting my laptop. I've had this equation keeping me up for hours, and I think I found a solution. Why were you throwing this away?" The taller brother asked, turning Leo's notebook over to make sure it was still okay. Leo felt his face heat up, and he tried to snag the book back, to no avail. Donnie just moved it out of reach.

"It's nothing. It's just trash."

"That wasn't my question."

Leo tried to make another grab for the book, desperation emanating from his posture. If Donnie read that, his secret identity as a FanFiction author was blown for good! "Come on, Donnie. Give it back."

"Nope. Why would I give it back if all you're gonna do is throw it out again?"

Leo seethed. What was his younger brother doing! "Donatello! Not fair! It's mine, I choose what to do with it!" He tapped into his ninjitsu skills, trying to sneak the book back. Donnie was not oblivious to what he was doing, and he countered, keeping the book out of reach.

"Full names won't make me give it back, Leonardo. What about this makes it so necessary to throw it out?"

"Because all it is is stupid fantasies that people don't want to bother to waste time on!"

Donnie cringed at Leo's raised voice, amazed that sensei or his brothers weren't woken up by the decibels. His red-brown eyes looked right at Leo and noticed just how much this was bothering his blue-banded leader. Leo's hands were balled into fists, and he was shaking slightly. But his eyes…

His blue eyes, normally so calm and peaceful, looked like the stormy ocean-choppy and turbulent, emotions clashing.

"Here…" Donnie said, handing the note book back. "Just… just don't throw it out. Please? I know how hard you work on your stories, and-"

"You… you know about my stories?" Leo asked incredulously. Donnie smiled wryly, amused at Leo's obliviousness.

"You've left the window to your account open on my laptop before."

"…Oh. Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to make fun of me? Big Bad Leader, writes love stories about Space Heroes." Leo was quiet now, waiting to be laughed at.

"Actually," Donnie said with a grin. "you're a pretty good writer. Your CelestRyan makes me think of you and Karai." Leo's face went bright red at that. "Kidding! Totally kidding!" Donnie amended when he saw Leo's embarrassment. Okay, so he wasn't kidding, but he wasn't about to tell Leo that when his big brother was afraid he'd be made fun of.

"So… you think I should keep writing?" Leo asked, looking hopefully up at the genius.

Donnie smiled, pulling Leo into a brief hug. "I think you should write as much as you want, about whatever you want, without worrying about what others think. It's your story, not theirs, and if they don't like it, they can move along."

Leo sighed. "But people don't just 'move along', Donnie. They leave hate mail, spread lies. They just… do it. And they don't regret doing it."

"Well, I'm sure those idiots will regret doing it soon enough." Donatello said with a smirk, and Leo looked at the olive turtle with confusion. "If anyone leaves you hate mail, I'll send them some right back. Who knows? Maybe a computer virus will just happen to find its way into their systems."

Leo smiled. "Thanks, Don. Um, didn't you have an equation to solve?"

Donnie froze in realization. "Shoot! I almost forgot!" He ran over to the abandoned laptop, quickly typing away.

Leo chuckled, shaking his head at his little gap-toothed brother. "You do that. I'm getting my shell into bed, and as soon as you're done writing that, I expect you to be in bed as well."

"Uh-huh, sure fearless leader." Donnie said, distractedly waving him off. "Of course."

Leo smiled, turning towards his room with his notebook in hand. Halfway through his doorway, however, he stopped and turned to Donnie. "And Donnie?"

The younger turtle looked up for a moment, tongue poking out thoughtfully.

"Thanks. For everything."

Donnie smiled back, forgetting his work for a moment. "No problem. What are brothers for?"

"Goodnight, little brother."

Donnie waved a goodnight as Leo's door shut, and he returned his attention to the screen. He ignored the equation-which was no more than random symbols on a word document-and instead opened a tab in Internet Explorer. He typed the address into the bar, clicked a few links to get to his destination, and began to type a new story onto his own FanFiction account.

_Dear FanFiction Authors,_

_Write whatever your heart desires._


End file.
